What's with Connecticut's shoreline? (New Haven, Norwalk: environment, house, resort)

[JenniferLynn]

Connecticut has a long shoreline, but the only comments I have seen about it are negative. "The sound is filthy" or "Go to the Rhode Island beaches."

Is it really that bad?

[skytrekker]

The Connecticut shore line is mostly on Long Island Sound- where the 'surf' is small- and the water can be a bit murky at times. The communities and the beaches are very pleasant. Rocky Neck and Hammonassett State parks are very nice.

By the time you get to New London, the water opens up into cleaner more frothy Block Island Sound and the Atlantic.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by JenniferLynn

Connecticut has a long shoreline, but the only comments I have seen about it are negative. "The sound is filthy" or "Go to the Rhode Island beaches."

Is it really that bad?

My In-laws have a beachhouse in Clinton and I spent most of my childhood on the beach in Milford. I've never ever had a problem with the sound.

What I think you are hearing are people who just think something is so and repeat it like parrots. Yea 30 years ago the sound was dirty, but that's long long gone.

The RI beaches are more like what you would see on the Jersey shore or VA Beach etc with bars, boardwalks and various other "beach life" stuff and they have higher surf. CT's shore is more traditional rugged coastal type and the beaches we have are state parks so they are very "natural". No neon paint schemes and guys with zinca on their nose kicked back drinking beer with club music thumping from the "lounge".

The beaches I prefer in RI is the Watch Hill area. I don't care for Misquamicut beaches much...to commercial for me.

[skytrekker]

Yes

Watch Hill RI is most pleasant- and reflects a turn of the century(19th/20th) seaside resort- not crowded or commercial JV is right.
Connecticut beaches are not over developed at all-

[JViello]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

Yes

Watch Hill RI is most pleasant- and reflects a turn of the century(19th/20th) seaside resort- not crowded or commercial JV is right.
Connecticut beaches are not over developed at all-

Thanks Sky.

Forgot a link in the last post. http://www.visitwatchhill.com/gallery/

This place is great for an afternoon lunch and across the street from Watch Hill beach.



Oh jeez, almost forgot SE CT also has Mystic and that whole thing going on...simply stunning. I often visit Abbots Lobster in the Rough in Noank, a sleepy little sea side village. http://www.abbotts-lobster.com/pictures.html

[Dockside]

Originally Posted by JenniferLynn

Is it really that bad?

I LOVE the CT shoreline. It's not the Atlantic coast...no sand dunes, no surfing, no rip-tides or undertows, nothing with big teeth feeding fifteen feet offshore. I've visited almost every CT beach I could, here are some of my favorites.

Greenwich has a beach on the mainland, and an island-beach with a ferry to shuttle people back and forth.

Norwalk has Calf Pasture Beach, with a long beach for swimming and a playground and a fishing pier. Norwalk has large commercial oyster beds right offshore so they make a big effort to keep the water clean.

Westport and Fairfield have gorgeous beaches, and in-between is Sherwood Island State Park, a bit noisy for some when the busloads of boom-boxes show up on summer weekends, perfect for a swim and BBQ on the weekday.

To me, once you get past New Haven, the whole feel of the CT coastline changes, becoming more open. Guilford and Madison have beautiful beaches and my wife loves Hammonasset State Park. I'm sure other people have their favorites.

I think CT beaches are some of the nicest in the US.

[mdkkr]

It's much cleaner than it was years ago as has been noted in the other comments.

I wouldn't compare the RI beaches to the NJ shore though. The NJ shore has far more seedy boardwalks, and is far more congested. The water in RI is extremely clean.

We get a bad rap in CT because the water in the Sound is not as clear as some other places. One of the reasons which contribute to this are the fact that numerous rivers (Housatonic, CT, Thames, Aspetuck and more...) flow into the region, carrying naturally occurring materials like silt or sands from as far north as Vermont. It can tend to cloud the water, but these materials are not pollutants in themselves.

Years ago, these rivers were carrying other undesirable materials as a consequence of weak environmental laws and old factories which dooted the landscape of these rivers.

While it may not be Bermuda, the Sound is getting better all the time.

[griff72]

although not a true "beach community" i can't help but mention newport, ri as my favorite RI town. to me its one of the nicest new england shoreline spots.

[njohnson]

The best beaches in CT are the small ones around Old Lyme. The rest are garbage. They are overcrowded in the summers, the water is never warm, it is murky with rocky sand and the water either has rocky bottoms, seaweed everywhere, or it is jellyfish season. When we go to the beach it is either in RI where the atmosphere is better or in New Jersey at Spring Lake.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by njohnson

The best beaches in CT are the small ones around Old Lyme. The rest are garbage. They are overcrowded in the summers, the water is never warm, it is murky with rocky sand and the water either has rocky bottoms, seaweed everywhere, or it is jellyfish season. When we go to the beach it is either in RI where the atmosphere is better or in New Jersey at Spring Lake.

Where have you gone? Perhaps we can recommend a decent place for you to visit. I don't find the water murky where I got, in fact quiet the opposite.

And the water in RI would actually be colder than the sound, not sure what you meant by that.